Harrow.



A.1. cuMMER & c. F. & M. G. MATZ.

HARROW. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 22. i9 l6.

1,218,930. Patented Mar.13,1917. y

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HARROW.

APPLICATION FILED IuNE 22. ISIS.

1,218,930. Patented Mar. I3, 1917.

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.ARTHUR J'. CUMMER, CHARLES F. MATZ, AND MICHAEL Gf. MATZ, 0F DUBUQUE, IOWA..

HARROW.

'To all wkomz'may concern.' Y

Be it known that we, ARTHUR J. CUMMER, CHARLES F. MATZ, and MICHAEL G. MATZ, citizens of the United States, residing at Dubuque, in the county of Dubuque and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Harrows, of which the following is a' specication.

Our invention relates to -harrows of that type in which a spiral plate or ribbon is dis-` posed at each side of a tongue or draft device and supported therefrom in such a manner that as the implement is drawn over the i'ield, the spiral edge of the ribbon or blade will cut into and pulverize the soil. The present invention seeks to provide improved means whereby the inward end thrust will be efectually resisted and the strip of uncultivated ground left between the two gangs or spirals will be minimized. The invention also seeks to provide improved novel means for supporting the gangs and for permitting them to accommodate themselves to the various angular adjustments which may be employed according to the work to be done.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a bottom plan view of a harrow embodying our present improvements;

Fig. 2 is a central vertical longitudinal section;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal section through one of the gangs or spiral blades;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail elevation of a portion of the central supporting member; v Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the spoke or blade support employed at the inner end of the gang;

Fig. 7 is a similar view of the spoke or blade support employed at the outer end of the gang; y

Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of one of the intermediate spokes or blade supports;

Fig. 9 is a detail view of the end member by which the outer end of the gang is supported from the main frame or draft device.

In lcarrying out our invention, we employ a tongue or draft pole 1, to the rear end of which are secured the upper and lower transverse beams 2 and 3, the upper beam Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Mar, v13, 1917, Application mea June'az, 191e. 'serial No. 105,231.

being constructed of angle iron arching over the rear end ofthe tongue and the'lower beamy being constructed of a -iat'bar and having the ends of the upper beam secured thereto. Diagonally disposed braces 4 connect the transverse beams with the tongue, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 'and 3. ,A seat 5 may be supported from the rear end of the tongue by a standard 6 whichis secured upon the tongue by a clip 7 having its side members extended below the tongue and forming a suppo-rtfor a roller 8 as shown most clearly in Fig. 2.1 Mounted upon the tongue, in advance of the standard 6, is a lever 9 equipped with a latch 10 adapted to coperate with a rack or segment 11 to hold the member in `any position in which it may be set. A supplemental lever 12 is mounted upon the frame by the same fulcrum bolt 13 which supports the lever 9 and the upper end of the said supplemental lever is secured rigidly to the lever 9, as clearly shown. The levers pass downwardly at the opposite sides of the tongue and the central harrowsupporting members 14 have their Ifront ends pivoted to the lower ends of the respective levers, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2. These central frame members or supports 14 are extended'upwardly in rear of the tongue and'then downwardly and forwardly so as to present an arched portion 15 which will clear the gangs or spiral blades when the ends of the same are in their extreme inner positions. End supporting members 16 are provided at the outer ends of the beams 2 and 3 and have their front ends pivoted between the outer extremities of the said beams, as shown clearly in Fig. 9. The supporting members 14 and 16 have their rear extremities constructed to support the opposite ends of the harrow gangs. Each supporting member has secured to its under side, near its extremity, a bracket 17 which coacts with the extremity of the member to engage diametrically opposite points of a nut 18 on the end of the shaft which carries the spiral blade. The nuts are turned home upon the extremities of the said shaft so as to maintain the proper adjustment of the blades mounted upon the shaft and the supporting members are then brought into engagement with the nuts, the nuts being preferably constructed with sockets 19 in their edges to receive lugs 20 on the supporting members whereby the nuts will be held against turning and, consequently, cannot work loose and be lost.

By referring more particularly to Fig. 4, it will be noted that the nuts 18 are mounted directly upon a rod, shaft or axle 21, which rod or axle will not rotate. A hollow shaft 22 ismounted upon the fixed rod or axle 21 and is rotatable freely upon the same, antifriction bearings being fitted within the ends of this hollow shaft and shown more or less conventionally at 23. Washers or caps 24 are fitted upon the axle against the ends of the hollow shaft so as to exclude dust and dirt therefrom and thereby prolong the life of the bearings.

The blade 25 consists of a spirally disposed ribbon supported at intervals throughout its length from the shaft 22 by spokes or supporting members radiating from the said shaft. The intermediate spokes or supporting members each has its inner end secured rigidly to a collar 26 which is secured upon the shaft by a set screw 27, the outer end of the said spoke 28 being secured rigidly to the blade at the inner edge of the same. rllhis spoke 28 lies entirely at one side of the shaft 22 and we prefer to provide said supports at regular intervals along and around the shaft so as to thoroughly brace and support the blade. The spoke at the outer end of the shaft will be constructed as shown in F ig. 7, in which a half ring or collar 29 is fitted against the shaft and secured thereto by a mating half collar or clamping plate 30 which is fitted around the opposite side of the shaft and is constructed at its extremities with lugs 31 bearing against, the radial arms 32 of the half ring 29. These arms 32 are extended to the blade or spiral and rigidly secured to the same, as shown clearly in Fig. 4. The `spokes at the inner ends of the gangs are. constructed, as shown in Fig. 6, in which a collar or ring is illustrated, the said collar being adapted to fit over and around the shaft 22 and be secured thereto to a set screw 34E, as will be readily understood. At diametrically opposite points of its periphery, this collar or ring is provided with lugs 35 t-o which the inner ends of the spokes or supporting arms 3G are pivoted, the outer ends of said spokes or arms being rigidly secured to the blade, as shown clearly in Fig. et. 1t will be readily seen that the blade is suppo-rted in such a manner that its outer end and its intermediate portions will be eifec-tually placed so as to cut into and pulverize the soil without yielding to the same so as to merely ride over the surface, while the inner ends of the gangs will be yieldably supported so that if, in an extreme angular position of the gangs, the inner extremities of the same should come into contact, they will move outwardly to a degree sufficient to permit their clearance after which the inherent resiliency of the blades will cause them to spring inwardly and resume their set working position so that the strip of uncultivated ground will be reduced to a minimum.

At the inner extremity of each shaft 22, we secureA a disk 37 having a convex surface which is opposed to a similar surface of the disk on the opposed gang. 1t will be readily understood that when the inner ends of the gangs are brought close together, these disks 37 will be in contact and, consequently, will receive the end thrust of the gang softhat it will be held to its work and will not shift laterally so as to move out of the intended path.

The implement is drawn over the field in the usual manner and the blades or gangs are adjusted so as to be in axial alinement, as shown in fu lines in Fig. 1 or to be set at an angle to each other, as indicated at dotted lines in said figure. This angular adjustment of the gangs is accomplished by swinging the levers 9 and l2 about their fulcrums, as will be readily understood, and it will be noted that inasmuch as the end-supporting members 16 are pivoted to the main frame or transverse beam, the rear ends of these supporting members may swing inwardly so that when the gangs are disposed at an angle to each other, the inner ends thereof may remain close together and, consequently, there will be no widening of the uncultivated strip. The central supporting members 14C ride under the roller 8 and are thereby held down to their work without excessive friction or wear. As a separate inner support is provided for each gang, they may move independently in vertical planes so as to readily rideiover inequalities in the surface of the field without causing either gang to leave uncultivated spots.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. The combination of a main frame, supporting members extending rearwardly from said frame at the center and the outer ends thereof, axles supported rigidly by and between the said supporting members, rotatable shafts mounted upon and carried by said axles, spiral blades secured to said shafts, and thrust-receiving members at the inner ends of said shafts.

2. The combination of a main frame, supporting members extending rearwardly from said frame, axles disposed between and carried by the rear ends of said supporting members, hollowshafts rotatably mounted upon said axles, spokes connected to and radiating from said hollow shafts, and spiral ribbons secured to and carried by the outer ends of said spokes.

3. The combination of a. main frame, a rotary shaft supported from said main frame, and a spiral blade carried by said shaft,

the inner end of said spiral blade being yieldably connected with the shaft.

4. The combination of a main frame, a rotatable shaft supported therefrom, a plurality of collars upon said shaft, spokes secured to the respective collars, and a spiral ribbon secured to and carried by the outer ends of said spokes, the spokes at the inner end of the spiral ribbon being pivotally connected to their respective collar.

5. The combination of a main frame, supporting members extending,- rearwardly l therefrom, brackets secured to the respective Copies of this patent may b e obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the supporting members and having a portion spaced from the extremity of the same, nuts engaged between the extremities of the supporting members and the brackets secured respectively thereto and held against turning by the same, an axle fitted in and secured by said nuts, and a spiral blade mounted upon and rotatable about said aXle.

In testimony whereof we afX our signatures.

ARTHUR J. CUMMER. [1.. s] CHARLES F. MATZ. [1.. s] MICHAEL G. MATZ. [Ls] Commissioner of Iatents47 Washington, I). C. 

